Okay, this is not local news, but talk about a sign of the times…”Church of England publishes prayer to comfort those who lose their jobs.” And no, it isn’t something as simple as, “Please God, don’t let me get sacked…” which is on the lips of most folks these days.
In true contemporary church form, the COE has released the ”Prayer On Being Made Redundant” on their Web site. ”Redundant?!?” More corporatespeak entering the world of religion! I guess it was only a matter of time before they addressed the job market after tackling the failure of U.S. auto companies.
As if that isn’t bad enough, there’s a companion prayer geared toward those who still retain their jobs, if only by a thread, and live in daily fear of layoffs (here in KC, those are typically known as “Sprint employees”) — “Prayer for those remaining in the workplace.” Sigh.
Way to go, organized religion. You’ve come a long way…now you can release empty, vapid memos to employees the faithful with the best of (mis)Fortune 500 companies. Full text of the redundancy prayer after the jump.
Prayer on being made redundant
‘Redundant’ – the word says it all -
‘useless,
unnecessary,
without purpose,
surplus to requirements.’
Uh…way to build up congregants’ self-esteem. Why not just call them “cosmic chum” and tell them to park their car in the garage and keep the engine running?
Thank you, Heavenly Father, that in the middle of
the sadness,
the anger,
the uncertainty,
the pain,
I can talk to you.
Unlike my bastard former supervisor, who just got back from a Fiji vacation and then talks about “tough choices” the company faces, hands out pink slips and retreats to his corner office.
Hear me as I cry out in confusion,
help me to think clearly,
and calm my soul.
Or if nothing else, write me a prescription for lexapro.
As life carries on,
may I know your presence with me
each and every day.
And as I look to the future,
help me to look for fresh opportunities, for new directions.
Guide me by your Spirit,
and show me your path,
A path that currently leads to the tavern down the street.
through Jesus, the way, the truth and the life. Amen.
Or something like that.
In England, they use the word ‘redundant’ to describe being laid off. It’s not corporate-speak; it’s the Queen’s English.
Order a biscuit in London, and you get a cookie. And a fag there is something you smoke. (As in cigarette.)
You’re right — the term holds a different meaning for our British bretheren; we weren’t originally going to comment on that particular word choice, but then we read the prayer itself and how the COE defined it:
“‘Redundant’ – the word says it all – useless, unnecessary, without purpose, surplus to requirements.”
Instead of phrasing the opening in a way that empathizes with the recently dismissed, understanding that most of them are victims of circumstance and misfortune, it just seemed like the prayer authors went out of their way to make sure people understood that they’re practically worthless.
One of the similarities between religion and business culture that we’re beginning to see is the use of generic, vanilla language in every sort of report or edict that trumpets its importance or relevance, when it really doesn’t say anything of value. Really, if one read this prayer without the first paragraph included, would one really know this was intended as a devotional on job loss? It’s as interchangable as the language in an interoffice memo on parking policies. It just frustrates us to see a faith-based organization offer THIS as comfort to its followers instead of career counseling or other worthwhile services.
That said…perhaps we overreacted a bit. Mainly we just thought it was a strange story.
If only they’d written this for the first COE redundancies – Catherine of Aragon and Cardinal Wolsey.
Zing!
Nicely done. A bit difficult to utter a prayer without one’s head, in Catherine’s case.